Va. Atheists Accuse Gov't Officiant of Refusing Marriage Ceremony Over Religion
An atheist couple from Virginia is accusing a local court-appointed officiant of refusing to perform their wedding ceremony because of their lack of faith in God.
Tamar Courtney and Morgan Strong of Roanoke County recently contacted the nearby Franklin County courthouse for information on finding an officiant to oversee their wedding ceremony. Franklin County Judge William N. Alexander reportedly pointed the couple in the direction of two officiants, the first one being Bud Roth.
Courtney and Strong reportedly began the process of planning their wedding ceremony with Roth, until the officiant reportedly asked the couple about their religious denomination. When the couple responded that they were atheist, Roth reportedly opted out of performing the ceremony, saying that he could not marry them because they did not believe in God.
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The couple then contacted The Friendly Atheist blog and wrote about their experience on social media. Strong, the groom, also called Roth back and recorded their conversation to prove that he had been denied service due to his atheist affiliation.
When Strong asks Roth in the recording why he and his fiancée have been denied service, the officiant replied: "Because she's Agnostic and you're an atheist. I will not marry you. You don't believe in God."
"That's my decision. I'm not judging you. I just don't marry anyone who does not believe in God [or] believes that there is a God someplace. So I'm not going to talk the issue over with you and I'm not going to argue about it, okay? I'm just not going to marry you. Correct?"
The couple is upset over Roth's decision, arguing that because it is a court-appointed officiant, he shouldn't have the right to deny a wedding based on religious affiliation.
Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist reached out to the clerk of Franklin County to learn more about the incident, and the clerk reportedly emailed Mehta back, explaining that it was Roth's right to deny service based on his belief.
"I spoke with Judge [William N.] Alexander pertaining to this and he said that he appointed one person that performs religious ceremonies (Mr. Roth) and one person that performs civil ceremonies (Mr. Young)," the email from the county clerk read.
"I don't know if they told the staff that they did not want a religious ceremony or not. He said this was Mr. Roth's belief and there was nothing wrong about that."
Strong and Courtney have found a new officiant to perform their marriage ceremony, and they will reportedly wed this week, according to Raw Story.
